Recent research into levels of arsenic contamination in bottled water has found that a brand sold by Whole Foods – and, by extension, on Amazon – contains high levels of toxic metal, hitting the federal limit for maximum contamination. And not everyone agrees that the federal limit is Safe enough.
New research from Consumer Reports found that Starkey Spring Water, which is sold both in retail stores and online, contains levels of arsenic between 9.49 and 9.56 parts per billion. FDA requires bottled waters meet a standard of 10 parts per billion (ppb) for arsenic contamination, which means the company is slightly below FDA-approved levels. But that doesn’t necessarily make the water safe, according to Consumer Reports, at least not if it is consumed regularly.
Its chief scientific officer, James Dickerson, Ph.D., said, “Regular consumption of even small amounts of heavy metals for prolonged periods increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and lower IQ scores in children. , and raises other health problems as well. ” TThe organization said that of the 45 bottled water brands it tested this year, many did not have amounts of arsenic at all.
Reached his comment, a spokesman for Whole Foods Market said “the company’s top priority is to provide customers with safe, high-quality spring water.”
“Beyond the annual tests required by an FDA-certified laboratory, we have a third-party accredited laboratory test on every production of water before it is sold,” the spokesperson said. “These products meet all of the FDA requirements and fully comply with the FDA standards for heavy metals.”
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Consumer Reports has previously requested The FDA lowered the standard for arsenic in bottled water from 10 ppb to just 3 ppb. Given consumers’ reasonable expectation that bottled water is safer to drink than municipal drinking water, the organization argued that the agency “can and should set the standard for bottled water below the federal standard for drinking water.” New Jersey, for example, has since 2006 forced A maximum level of pollutants of 5 parts per billion.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. As of this writing, the water still appeared in the Amazon market as available for purchase.
This is not too surprising for Amazon, which is known for default to adequately policeman he products available in your market (or Whole Foods, since Starkey water has been remembered in the past on arsenic contamination). But it’s all the more reason to be wary of items purchased through the e-commerce giant. By Amazon’s own admission, it has a problem with product research on its platform. This week, the company released a Counterfeit Crimes Unit to help curb fraudulent listings on your site. Unfortunately, bad bottled water doesn’t fit under this umbrella.
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